Johan Nygaardsvold

Johan Nygaardsvold (6 September 1879-13 March 1952) was Prime Minister of Norway from 20 March 1935 to 25 June 1945, succeeding Johan Ludwig Mowinckel and preceding Einar Gerhardsen.

Biography
Johan Nygaardsvold was born in Hommelvik, Norway on 6 September 1879, and he worked in Canada and the United States from 1902 to 1907 before returning to Norway. He became an Industrial Workers of the World agitator back in Europe, and he was elected to the Hommelvik Board of Education in 1910 as a Norwegian Labor Party member. In 1916, he was elected to the Stortinget for the first time, serving continuously until 1949. In 1928, he became Minister of Agriculture, and he became Prime Minister in 1935. In 1940, Nazi Germany defeated Norway's weakened army (which had been decreased in size during the 1930s) and occupied the country, and Nygaardsvold led the Norwegian government-in-exile from London until the end of World War II in 1945. He resigned to make way for an interim government composed of all political parties, and he retired in 1949. He died in 1952.